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Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel. I own Addison Carter.

RATED M

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July 26th, 2017, Los Angeles

"It's nice to see you here once again. It's been a long time," Pepper told me as we were on the terrace of a restaurant.

"Yeah well, I'm more of an East Coast kind of girl. Blame it on the English in me." I had my sunglasses on my nose.

I looked to my right. The road was busy, palm trees alongside of it. I had never liked Los Angeles. It was just too sunny for me. Too many options in food. It was hell to get a latte with cow milk.

I would never be an L.A girl. Just seeing them, sometimes showing so much skin, made me uncomfortable. I didn't hate my body, but like everyone I had insecurities regarding it. I mean, hello tummy that bloated when I'd eat the smallest thing.

Yet, I'd throw a fit if one more person attempted to talk me into glorifying kale.

"I won't go at SI HQ though, it's been nine years but I'm still scared to see Obadiah or his ghost." She smirked faintly.

"Don't worry, I had everything purified with sage."

"Good call."

"So you're going to Oakland?" I nodded. "Is it some...Avengers thing? Tony was vague in his call."

"Meh, in a way."

I was going to the Wakandan International Outreach Centre. Hopefully, I'd convince someone I knew T'Challa and they'd let me see him. Going through the Avengers' canal might raise a few eyebrows and I didn't want that.

"Do you think you'll go back on active duty soon?" I shrugged.

"There's still some parts of my memory that are blurry or absent because they're about people I haven't seen in a while. I mean, I have pictures but...it's weird. At first, the memories...it was almost like watching a movie about someone else's life."

"And now?"

"Now? It's a mix of knowing it's me and having relationships with the people that girl had relationships with." I smiled faintly. "Sometimes, it's exhausting."

"You can't have recovered in six months. At least not in a regular way." She took a sip of her drink. "It...I don't know much about the mind and all of this, but recovering the regular way is brave knowing you could have done it in an easier way."

"Thanks," I told her quietly as the food arrived.

It was draining at times though. Better than before, but draining.

I went to the center in Oakland the next day. I breathed in relief at the air-conditioner. It was too hot outside. I put my sunglasses on my head and went to the receptionist.

"Hi, could I speak with the one in charge here?" The receptionist looked at me up and down and frowned at my face.

"And you are?"

"I'm…" She raised a finger at me and put her free hand to her ear. I looked around, aware of the furtive glances she'd throw at me.

It was a different kind of modern I was used to, and I lived in the Avengers Compound.

"The head of the research department will receive you." I blinked at her and followed the direction she was pointing at.

So...I went, looking around like a child. It was impressive. I found the lab easily and walked inside hesitantly, leaning forward a little to look around.

"Hello?"

"Hey!" I jumped at the girl's voice right next to me. I looked at her and raised a brow. She was tall and quite skinny, black, with dark brown braided hair in a bun on the top of her hair. Her dark brown eyes were sparkling with mischief and intelligence and she sported a big grin on her face. "It's been a long time Addison!" I blinked.

"Yeah?" She frowned.

"Did I change that much? I was thirteen when we met." I blinked again. "Shuri, T'Challa's sister?"

"Yeah, of course, Shuri." I frowned. "Didn't you want to study me and Storm?"

"Only for research purposes," she justified herself with her thick Wakandan accent. "I saw you on the monitor and recognized you immediately. Can I study what you can do now, this black matter you make? I saw the images of some Avengers mission and it's been stuck in my head ever since."

"How about you get me to see your brother and I'll think about it?" She furrowed her brows.

"Oh yeah, what do you want with him?"

"It's huh...important matter?" She narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'd be more comfortable talking to him and then let him decide whether or not you should know Shuri." She studied me with her eyes for a while.

"Fine, I'll call him. I thought you wanted to know how Bucky was."

"Bucky...Barnes," I said to myself quietly. She looked at me strangely before taking her phone.

The call didn't last long. She came back quickly.

"Do you have a bag?"

"A...bag? In my hotel room. Why?"

"I'm taking you to Wakanda." She wrote on her phone. "What's your hotel and room number?"

"Wait what? Wakanda? I can't...I don't have my passport with me!"

"It's okay, I'm royalty and the King requested your presence."

"Bu…"

"You...don't have a say in this, I'm pretty much kidnapping you." She looked up from her phone at me, expectantly. I rolled my eyes and gave her the name of my hotel.

I was on a Wakandan jet two hours later.

July 29th, 2017, Citadel, Golden City, Wakanda

I slowly emerged from my slumber, the jet lag having completely knocked me out. I sat in my bed, the covers slipping from my body to my thighs. Rubbing my eyes, I yawned deeply.

I was supposed to meet T'Challa today. Shuri said she'd take care of it. I stood up and went to the window. The city...was beautiful and full of life. I couldn't wait to ask if I could visit it while I was in the country. Of course, Tony kind of just...he was a little weirded out when I told him I was being kidnapped by the Wakandan princess.

After taking a shower, struggling to use it by the way, and getting dressed, I called Shuri. She told me to call her when I was ready anyway.

"You ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'm gonna send a Dora Milaje to escort you." She hung up on me.

Dora Milaje? The King's guards? Hell, they seemed scary.

One appeared in the hallway quickly. She was one of the two who had been with the King at the Compound. She gestured at me with her head and I followed her quietly, glancing all around me with awe. I was like a child. The palace was a perfect mix of ancient with all of its history and modern.

"My King, Addison Carter is here," the Dora Milaje stated once we were in a new room. It was big and round, with a beautiful view of the city. At the center were seven chairs, the middle one more impressive than the others. Then, there was another one in front of all of them.

T'Challa stood up from his chair, well his throne. He nodded at the Dora Milaje.

"Thank you Ayo, you can leave us." Ayo shot me a distrustful look and left. I exhaled, realizing I wasn't breathing. "They have that effect on people."

"Scary," I mumbled. I walked up to him and shook his hand. "Thanks for accepting to see me."

"I thought you wouldn't have gone to Oakland and asked to see me for nothing," he replied before showing me the lonely chair. "Please. It is official matters from what Shuri told me."

"Yeah, kind of." He went back to his throne himself. "It's...going to be quite of a long story, so please listen carefully. You're...crucial." He frowned and I started talking.

I started by explaining about the Infinity Stones, how many of them had appeared on Earth in the past few years, briefly talked about my dad's video and finished by saying I was pretty sure there was something lurking around just waiting for the right time to get the stones on Earth.

"Nobody should have that much power," T'Challa stated firmly. I nodded.

"Exactly. We...we are getting ready on our side, Vision is one of us and we don't want him to die. I mean, only Tony and I are aware of all of that. But the Avengers need to assemble when the time comes. That's...when you come onto the scene." He raised a curious and interested brow.

"Me?" I nodded.

"You're a King. The Wakanda is now considered as one of the strongest country in the world because of your technology. You, if there is a battle, will be on the front line as the Black Panther. You are a leader, an ally and a fighter. People listens to you. People in your debt even more I'm sure."

"You want me to contact Steve Rogers when the moment comes," he realized quickly. I nodded.

"Tony won't call him for...reasons and I can't really force him. I'm busy learning to control my powers and can't waste time looking for him, or Sam, or Natasha. I figured...he'd listen to you, with you helping Barnes and all."

"You are not wrong." I pursed my lips.

"And...and Lang and Barton as well. I was told they were under house arrest but...if the King of Wakanda were to ask for their help...with how the Accords are changing, maybe they'd be allowed to come."

"You've thought about this for a long time."

"Well...I'm not looking forward someone using all of the stones for who knows what. Hell, someone who can use all of the stones is a scary thought." He nodded in agreement.

"When the time comes, I'll make sure to assemble them," he promised me.

"Thank you," I thanked him, my voice trembling because of the immense relief I was feeling.

"What will you be doing in the meantime?"

"Train to control my powers as I said. I...let's just say the reason I lost my memories also happen to be the reason why my powers evolved very quickly. It...is too much for me to handle right now, and opening a whole new way of using them. A way that could be very dangerous if not controlled." I pursed my lips, showing him my hands. I let the black energy running in it and he leaned forward. "The last thing I want is to turn into a threat that has to be dealt with."

"Wakanda can provide you a safe place if you require it." I smiled faintly.

"It's very generous of you, and appreciated, but unfortunately vibranium won't do much with dimension-related powers. Just...keep that to yourself and damn I forgot Shuri wanted to study my dark matter." T'Challa looked at me, almost with pity. "No chance I sneak out of the country without you telling her?"

"I am not dealing with her," he said immediately.

"Scared of your sister?"

"She can talk for hours."

August 5th, 2017, Golden City, Wakanda

"It's a stabilizer," Shuri explained to me as we were walking through the market. I looked at the wrist watch I had now. "Your powers and magic are great, but nothing a little technology cannot improve."

"I agree on that point. It's like the little wheels on a bike. It will keep me from falling."

"Highly developed wheels."

"Of course."

"You've been here for a week now Addison, but you haven't asked about him yet."

"Him?" I repeated, my brows raised.

"Bucky?" she replied as if it was obvious. "He said you knew each other pretty well. I don't know the details, but he's determined to have you forgive him." I blinked.

"Sure, Bucky!" Forgive him for my parents or the weird romance between us I barely remembered? "It's just that, you know, I haven't seen him in a while. It would be...weird." She grinned at me.

"I'm sure, but he's on the way to recovery. We removed the trigger words from his brain."

"Impressive," I mumbled and she grinned smugly.

"You know, at first it was a new challenge but once I cracked the code, it was logic all the way."

"For you, I'm sure." I looked at the shop. "I'm gonna make a stop here I think."

"I know." I frowned. "You look like an old woman who can't remember things. You stopped there in 2011 too."

"A lot has happened." I entered the shop and looked around.

It was a lot of traditional braided bracelets and necklaces, traditional clothing and such. I grabbed a red and yellow bracelet, reminding me of Iron Man. Hell, he wouldn't wear it but who cared, it was better than a shot glass. I picked a brown one for me, in leather, with a black panther head on a small flat part of it.

"Hello," I greeted the seller. He greeted me back when I realized I didn't have any Wakandan currency. "Would you wait a min…"

A man's arm appeared next to me and put a few coins on the counter. A few words in Xhosa were exchanged. The seller chuckled and handed me my goods. I nodded in thanks and left.

Shuri was nowhere to be seen.

"You know, a 'thank you' would be appreciated." I blinked at the English. The voice was familiar. I spun around and my eyes found steel-blue ones and a boyish, yet somewhat shy and nervous smile. "Hey Addison." The man was wearing a traditional red dress. A blue cloth covered his left shoulder, where his arm should be. His brown hair was wavy and reached his shoulders. He had a beard.

"Hey...Bucky." He blinked at that, apparently surprised by something but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I looked around once more. "Where's Shuri?"

"She huh...left. She told me she'd take you there so…" It was a set up. "I didn't want to miss the chance to see you now you're in Wakanda. When did you get here?"

"A week ago," I replied quietly. He pursed his lips and gulped.

"Did you have a nice time?" I looked around us once more. "Addison, are you…"

"Can we...can we go somewhere more private?" He nodded and grabbed my hand in his.

His hand was big, warm and...and so familiar. He was walking in front of me, so I looked up at him from behind. He was so familiar.

I was set up though, in an unfamiliar place. It...I was itching to read everybody's mind and find the safest way to leave the place. I felt like a trapped animal, like I was to Sinister.

I shivered against my will at the wave of memories and nausea that hit me. However, as Bucky led me out of the busy city to a small road, I took a deep breath. My heart started to calm down.

Did I almost have a panic attack?

We stopped under a tree, the leaves shielding us from the beaming sun. I started to shake my top to get some air, which didn't escape Bucky's eyes.

"Thanks for the money," I told him.

"It's nothing." His eyes wouldn't leave me. The softness lingering in them either. It was…

I didn't remember the time we spent together, I didn't really deserve it.

Bucky chuckled.

"It's weird," he admitted. "It's...we shouldn't have surprised you like that, I'm sorry for that." I pursed my lips.

"Thanks," I whispered. He scratched his temple.

"I saw you were pardoned for your actions in Germany and breaking the Accords, it's…" I looked at him. "It's nice. You're okay with being an Avenger?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I replied curiously. Something clouded his eyes for an instant. "I'm a reserve member anyway."

"Good." I frowned at him. "I mean...I don't want to discover you died through the newspaper."

"I can defend myself just fine," I spat. I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he whispered. "Can I...know how you got pardoned?" I smirked bitterly.

"It's better if you don't." I knew he was the Winter Soldier.

The cursed chair, he spent seventy years on it. I was a mess with only three months spent there while he seemed pretty good. I just couldn't tell him.

I was...ashamed, embarrassed, but also I didn't want to tell him anything regarding the Winter Soldier as he was...recovering. I had the deep, strong need to keep this to myself and leave him recover far from all of this.

Ah. I wanted to protect him. That was what it was.

"Really?" He was colder. I sighed.

"There's nothing to say. I went back to NYC, got myself in a case important enough for me to be pardoned thanks to my help. Nothing more, nothing else." It wasn't a lie. It was a very simplified, censored truth.

"I see."

"Nice...look by the way." Looking more closely at him, I could see the definition of his arm muscles pretty well.

The thin layer of sweat on it was making it…

I felt a blush coming and he smirked smugly.

"Thanks. You have black hair." I took a lock of my hair between two fingers. I did dye it again a few weeks ago. "Have you read my letter?" he asked me quietly, almost as if he was scared.

It only confirmed what I thought. There were private thoughts in it, feelings and I…

"No," I answered, probably harsher than I wanted to. His face fell for a second. "I…"

"You don't have to explain," he interrupted me quickly, hiding the disappointment in his eyes with a fake smile. "I just needed to get things out, you have no obligation to read it."

The silence was heavy.

"I don't...I don't have triggers anymore," he stated in a deeper, more serious voice. "I'm getting better now, the soldier...he's gone."

"Is he?" I gulped when he narrowed his eyes at me, prompting me to continue. "Removing triggers is great, but...it doesn't erase decades just like that. Even if you make amends," Would I make amends one day? "...will you ever forget what your learned there?"

"It's a terrible thing to say to someone in rehabilitation."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, scratching my arm. He caught my hand and forced it open, frowning deeply at the mark on it.

"What's that?"

"A...tattoo."

"You got a green 'M' tattooed on the palm of your hand?" he asked me, almost sarcastically.

I removed my hand from his grasp.

"You're not telling me something."

"Why would I?" His arm fell limply by his side.

"You hate me, don't you?" I blinked. He looked away and sniffed. "I should have known, why would you…"

"I don't hate you," I stated firmly, turning fully toward him. I clenched my fists by my sides. "You're just being pushy with things I'm not comfortable with. I don't trust you, but I don't hate you."

I could have punched him that it would have been the same.

"I had it coming," he admitted quietly. "But I...I can earn it back, right?" I blinked as he took a deep breath. "I mean, I can fix us, right doll?" I widened my eyes before making a face.

"Don't ever call me that."

"Alright." He hesitantly took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it. He maintained eye contact and I looked away shyly, curling my toes in my shoes. "I miss you though. There's not a day where I don't think of you Addie." I felt my stomach twisting at the nickname, but...in a good way.

My throat and lips were dry. I licked my lips and for a split of a second, Bucky's eyes were darker.

"How can I earn your trust again?" he asked me quietly, his lips a centimeter from my hand. I stared deeply in his eyes and sighed.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on his chest. He covered it with his.

"Live," I told him as gently as possible. Funny enough, it came naturally, as if I was used to talk to him like that. "You're free from becoming someone's murder tool. Just...live. Find something you love and live with that in mind."

"Always wise words," he joked in a whisper. I smiled back at him.

"I'll have you know I am a wise person when I want to." He chuckled and leaned his forehead against mine.

"I'm glad to see you." He kissed me on the forehead. "I'll take you back to Shuri."

I glared at the young adult when we met up with her.

August 2017, Wakanda

There was something wrong. When Shuri told him Addison was in Wakanda, he didn't believe it at first. Why would she be in Wakanda? A small voice whispered to him that maybe it was for him, but he knew better than that. She had been pardoned, was basically free now, she wouldn't risk it for him. Not again.

He didn't want her to risk it for him again. One day he would be ready to give her what she deserved, fight to get her back and have a chance of a real relationship with her, but not now.

Yet, she was in Wakanda.

There had to be a reason.

Then he saw her. Her hair was longer, reaching the middle of her back, and black. He didn't like it. It made her face harsher whereas her natural brown hair gave her a more youthful look.

Something was wrong with her though.

She called him 'Bucky'. He winced internally but didn't show it because she...clearly didn't see anything wrong with it. She never called him 'Bucky'. In all honesty, he didn't want her to. He didn't like people using his first name, he'd rather have people call him 'Bucky' yet when it came out of Addison's mouth it just felt awfully wrong.

She was the first person to treat him like a human being in decades and gave him a name. Sure, she picked his actual name but...it was still a name, reminding him he wasn't just HYDRA's weapon. When his nickname came out of her pretty lips, how he wished he could have just kissed her again, it made his skin crawl. Somehow, her calling him that gave him the feeling that what they lived together was nothing and that she only did it for Steve.

It was in part true of course, but not only.

She was so defensive too…

Bucky sat down on his bed. It wasn't as if he thought she'd welcome him with arms wide open but...it was almost as if she was talking to a stranger. He messed up but he wasn't a stranger. Then, she didn't see anything wrong with being in the Avengers when he remembered her telling him she was forced to. Did something change? Maybe, it had been a year and…

He sighed. The mark on her hand...he had a bad feeling about it. She was...nervous with him, ready to jump at any noise. She was on the verge of panicking in town with him. He bit his lips.

She had been pardoned. Something terrible must have happened for her to be pardoned. Something that left her with heavy consequences. He bit his bottom lip. She had not read his letter after all. When T'Challa told him he'd go to New York, he had written it, pouring his heart and feelings into it, hopes for the future. Of course it hurt like hell to know she didn't read it. It was as if she had taken a knife, plunged it into his heart and twisted it painfully slowly as she looked at him with her big, beautiful brown eyes.

Something bad had happened.

He couldn't help it and feared the worst. Whatever had happened was bad. As someone who had memory issues...he just didn't want to believe she didn't remember him at all.

August 24th, 2017, New York Sanctum

I took a deep breath, feeling the red and black energy going straight to my stabilizer. Strange had...been surprised to see me with a little Wakandan help. Wong looked at it with disdain.

Anyway.

"There are five relics to find in the Mirror Dimension," Strange told me. "They're magical. Find them and bring them here." I nodded.

I put on foot in front of the other and materialized dark matter. A second later, only the dark red energy within it was in the air above my hand. I aimed it at the floor and released it, feeling the fabric of reality around me changing. Strange and Wong disappeared and I was in the Mirror Dimension.

I took a deep breath and materialized my magic again. It was so strange to think I could use magic now. Sure, I was far from Strange's or Wong's levels, I was still a rookie, but I could.

Anyway, I moved my hand, a little bit of the dark red energy following it. As usual in the Mirror Dimension and Dark Matter Magic, the matter of reality itself followed my hand. It was one of my biggest challenge in the Mirror Dimension: practice magic and stay in it. This dimension was a prison for anyone without a Sling Ring.

It was the total opposite with me. If I were to break my focus then I was expelled to another dimension, usually the regular one but you never know when you might end up...in another one.

I wasn't looking forward to see alternate realities at the moment.

Anyway, I spread out my magic, sensing any magical energies in the dimension. I...had an easy time synchronizing my dark matter magic with the fabric of the Mirror Dimension, hence why I could sense what happened there but also why I could get ejected easily.

There.

I made a circle with my arm, dark red energy following my hand and making a portal.

I crossed it and found myself in Central Park, the Mirror Dimension version of it. I picked up the dagger and twirled it in my hand.

Four to go.

I was back at the Sanctum once I gathered all of them and leaned on my knees, panting. Wong stopped the timer.

"Seventeen minutes and twenty-three seconds," he told Strange.

"Not bad knowing the area we covered and the detection work." I grinned at Strange. "You're free of training for the rest of the day."

"Really?"

"It's your birthday, isn't it?" I blinked. "Happy birthday by the way." Wong nodded at me, silently wishing me a happy birthday as well.

Right.

Twenty-seven huh.

I changed back in a regular outfit.

"See you when then?"

"In three days," Strange told me. I nodded and opened a portal in my room.

"See you then."

The portal closed behind me. I had gotten quite good at making gateways in places I had been in this reality and dimension.

At my surprise, we celebrated my birthday. I wasn't really planing on it, but it happened. The Avengers were there, Peter as well, the Uncanny Avengers and a few X-Men. Wade whined to get his own access code to the Avengers Compound, to which Tony refused each time.

However...I had fun at the party. Pietro talked me, Wanda and Peter into seeing who could steal the most food without being caught. Logan caught Peter and I. I couldn't even use Peter as a decoy and leave him at his mercy that Rhodey was onto me, wanting his chicken.

I ate it very slowly in front of him. It was war between him and I for the rest of the night.

Thank you all for reading! Don't hesitate to leave a review!

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